Watch: Former Canucks prospect drops Predators tough guy with insane punch
Podkolzin, originally drafted 10th overall by the Canucks in 2019, wins the second fight of his NHL career in an insane fashion.
Just one day ago, I wrote about how former Vancouver Canucks prospect Vasily Podkolzin, who was traded to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2025 fourth-round pick in the summer, was struggling to get going in his new environment.
One night later, Podkolzin has his second point as an Oilers player - an assist - as well as his second NHL fight. Podkolzin's first fight came on Nov. 13, 2022, when he fought with A.J. Greer of the Boston Bruins and lost.
Former top Canucks draft pick struggling in new environment
Well, Podkolzin got into his second fight, and his first as an Oiler, on Thursday night, showing the Nashville Predators something scary for Halloween. The Canucks' former No. 10 overall pick dropped the gloves with defenseman Jeremy Lauzon, one of the league's heaviest and most frequent hitters, and took him down with an insane right hook. Seriously!
Vasily Podkolzin DROPPED Jeremy Lauzon 🤯 pic.twitter.com/fFQ5nba1ho
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 1, 2024
Lauzon started the fight with Podkolzin with a flurry of rights that connected with Podkolzin's neck and shoulder, but as Podkolzin ducked and dodged, he found a split second to go on the offensive, tagging Lauzon squarely in the forehead with a perfect right of his own. With Lauzon already stunned and falling to the ice, Podkolzin tagged him in the back of the head one more time for good measure.
Podkolzin's initial punch was so strong that it gashed Lauzon just above the left eye, and as Lauzon crawls to his feet, you can clearly see some blood spilling out onto the ice. You do not exactly see that in the NHL every day. Not anymore, at least.
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The ESPN commentators were probably as stunned with Podkolzin's right hook as you and I, Canucks fans.